“It’s the World Cup final, the players know what that is,” he told a news conference.

“One thing that makes me happy is all my players tell me whether they are not 100 per cent fit.”

“We’ve created such a relationship that they will admit ‘I’m not fit, I’ll miss the final.”

“They know what is at stake but if they are unable to give their all, they will tell us, I expect them to do so.”

“We did not insist on training sessions, we have nothing to practice. We need rest, relaxation, we have some minor problems and I hope we’ll overcome those today [Saturday] and all my players will be ready to play.

“If not, we have great players on the bench raring to go. I’m not worried.”

“He’s a top, top player, his career has shown that with all the clubs and trophies,” Dalic added.

“He gives everything he has. When we finished our United States tour, I told him, ‘Mario, you’ll be a centre-forward’, even though he had a different position at Juventus.

“He gives his all wherever he plays, he is the very important link in our chain and he does important work.

“He scored a key goal in the last match and any coach at any club must have a player like that in the squad. I’m very happy he plays for us and more importantly he’s enjoying himse